ACIM Workbook Lesson 140 – for Friday, May 20. 2011
Affirmation: “Only salvation can be said to cure.”
Selected Passage:
“The happy dreams the Holy Spirit brings are different from the dreaming of the world, where one can merely dream he is awake. The dreams forgiveness lets the mind perceive do not induce another form of sleep, so that the dreamer dreams another dream. His happy dreams are heralds of the dawn of truth upon the mind. They lead from sleep to gentle waking, so that dreams are gone. And thus they cure for all eternity. (WB270)”
Reflections:
1 – This Favorite Passage
This is a favorite passage of long-time students/teachers of A Course in Miracles. An oft-repeated refrain, the phrase “happy dreams the Holy Spirit brings” is a herald of what is meant for us in this sometimes difficult and troubling world. It is possible to live this happy dream, and for years, before the happy dreams lead gently into the Awakening (or Enlightenment). It would be best, though, to commune with God about the Awakening, and not to remain satisfied with simply happy dreams. We do not wish to prolong dreams of any kind, because dreams are illusion, and ACIM would have us move into reality. What this actually means may remain obscure to us until we reach Awakening. We know (not perceive) in a flash of time the meaning of those things that have eluded us. Earlier, though, we may have flashes of insight that do not last. Jesus speaks in the Text of revelation that reveals the end to us, but to get there the means are needed. In this same passage, he says that the means are being carefully explained to us (i.e., in ACIM).
2 – From A Course of Love
A Course of Love, viewed by some as a sequel to ACIM, asks us to stop seeking endlessly. We have sought for so long that this may be hard for us. We think that there is always something else that we need to learn. But once we have studied ACIM, and perhaps read A Course of Love, we know what we need to know. We are ready for God to reach now and lift us up. We can ask that He do so soon. We can rest in patience until that glorious moment arrives.
3 – The Mind Is Quiet
Do not underestimate the importance of the happy dreams that the Holy Spirit brings. They quiet out mind so that we will welcome Awakening. We are told in the Manual that without this preparation, we would be too frightened and maybe even depressed to welcome Awakening. If we have lived for illness, for example, to have a sudden healing would perhaps not be in our best interests. So healing has to wait, to protect our very existence. (Jesus says that some, faced with a sudden healing, might even try to destroy themselves.) But having lived through the happy dreams, we will be ready when God is. May that day come soon for all of us.
Prayer:
Dear Mother/Father,
Thank You for the happy dreams that the Holy Spirit has brought to me. They have indeed made my dream of this life a far grander version of dreaming than anything that I knew when I was much younger and did not have the gift of ACIM. I would not stay stuck in dreams, though, because there is a time to move even beyond “happy dreams,” on into reality. And I know that only You make this determination, this time when the time is right.
I do pray that this time of the real world come quickly. The Awakening is needed by all of us, before pain and suffering make our living in a difficult world even worst, especially for those who have not seen the light that You have brought to all who will listen. May I reach out to my brothers and sisters, those who are ready, with Your message of the real world today.
Amen.
